The sixth day of the third lunar month was a day of grand fortune, highly auspicious for marriage.
Outside the main gates of the Zhenbei Marquisate, the bridal sedan chair had arrived, accompanied by an escort procession that stretched out like a long dragon. Red carpets lined the thoroughfare for miles, and the dowry chests trailed behind in an endless line. Spectators packed both sides of the main street, eager to witness the grand occasion of the Marquis of Zhenbei marrying a daughter of the Xie family.
Draped in a brilliant red wedding gown, Xie Zhaoyan bent low as she stepped out from the sedan chair. Her breathtaking beauty drew audible gasps from the crowd, yet her eyes remained cold and indifferent, entirely devoid of a bride’s joy.
Standing before the main gates, Nanny Zhou of the Marquisate stared at her expressionlessly, her face dripping with arrogance. “My Old Madame has declared that as a merchant’s daughter, Miss Xie comes from humble stock and is unfit to be the principal wife of the Marquisate. Should Miss Xie be willing to voluntarily demote herself to a concubine, Old Madame, in her grace, is prepared to grant you the rank of noble concubine.”
A stir rippled through the wedding escort waiting quietly in the street, while the onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.
“Voluntarily demote to a concubine? Isn’t this an imperial decree of marriage?”
“Indeed. I heard that during the Marquis’s military campaigns, the Xie family provided immense support in grain, fodder, and warhorses. To reward their loyalty, the Emperor betrothed their daughter to him.”
“Demoting a primary wife chosen by imperial decree to a concubine… isn’t that defying an imperial edict?”
“Of course it is! But…”
“No matter how wealthy the Xie family is, they are still just merchants. The Marquis of Zhenbei holds grand military prestige and noble stature—it’s only natural he’d look down on her.”
Hearing the unabashed whispers drifting from the street, Nanny Zhou’s expression soured. She snapped harshly, “Nonsense! The Marquis would never dare defy an imperial command!”
The Marquis was merely asking Xie Zhaoyan to “voluntarily demote herself.” Did these ignorant fools even understand what “voluntarily” meant? It meant stepping down willingly of her own accord—not the Marquisate forcing her into concubinage! A bunch of ignorant commoners who couldn’t even grasp plain words.
“A noble concubine?” Standing outside the gates, Xie Zhaoyan looked at the haughty nanny. The faint upward curve of her lips was her hallmark harbinger of slaughter. “Did you misspeak, or did I mishear?”
“Miss Xie, I did not misspeak, nor did you mishear!” Nanny Zhou raised her chin, sneering down at Xie Zhaoyan with contempt. “Consider the prestige of our Marquisate! How could we possibly take a woman of merchant origin as our principal wife?”
Xie Zhaoyan smiled softly, though her eyes remained entirely cold. The smile lit up her features with a dangerous, captivating radiance. “Are you aware that this marriage was bestowed by the Emperor himself? Has your Marquisate grown so arrogant in its military achievements that you dare defy an imperial decree?”
Nanny Zhou faltered for a second, then countered, “The edict only stated that you were betrothed to the Marquis—it never specified that you had to be his principal wife.”
“What an utter joke!” A young woman dressed in crisp red martial attire stepped forward. Plum blossoms were embroidered along her lapels and cuffs, and her voice was razor-sharp. “Does an imperial decree of marriage ever bestow a concubine? For the Marquisate to openly defy an edict—are you seeking the execution of your entire clan?”
“Presumptuous!” Nanny Zhou’s glare hardened. “How dare a mere servant speak out of turn before the nobility? Truly an unrefined merchant family—you don’t even know how to discipline your servants!”
Xie Zhaoyan cast her an ambiguous half-smile, turned her head, and snapped her fingers.
Two guards immediately brought forward an armchair, placing it directly behind her. Smoothly brushing her red bridal gown, Xie Zhaoyan took a seat, paying no heed to the crowd of onlookers along the street nor to Nanny Zhou’s increasingly pale face.
“A’mei.”
“Present!”
“Bring out the account ledger. Calculate how much silver the Old Madame of the Marquisate owes on credit for the rare tonics she took from the Xie family apothecary over the years—including ginseng, velvet antler, and lingzhi mushroom.”
Nanny Zhou’s complexion shifted drastically.
A’mei was the woman clad in red martial attire with embroidered plum blossoms. Flipping open an account book, she replied, “Reporting to Young Miss: within three years, the Old Madame of the Marquisate repeatedly consulted physicians, filled prescriptions, and acquired rare tonics at the Xie family apothecary. The total outstanding debt comes to nine thousand three hundred taels of silver.”
She held out the ledger and receipts right in front of Nanny Zhou. “Please inform your Old Madame: our Miss may or may not marry today, but this debt will certainly be collected. The Marquisate must settle its unpaid balance first.”
Nanny Zhou froze, completely caught off guard by this sudden move. Was the apothecary Old Madame had frequented all these years actually owned by the Xie family?
Whispers broke out among the onlookers once again. “Is the Old Madame’s health really that poor? Spending over nine thousand taels on tonic herbs alone in just three years? Does silver just fall from the sky?”
“Don’t speak so rashly. The Marquis has campaigned for years and earned countless military merits—perhaps these were imperial rewards?”
“No matter how bountiful the rewards are, how could they sustain such squandering? Over nine thousand taels just for medicinal tonics! Add to that the living expenses of the entire household, monthly allowances for numerous guards and servants, social gifts, seasonal wardrobes and jewelry for the young masters and ladies, feed for horses… Adding it all up, wouldn’t that amount to tens of thousands of taels of silver a year?”
“It couldn’t be embezzled military funds, could it?”
That final sentence dripped with heavy suspicion. After all, such vast sums could not possibly come solely from imperial rewards, and a general’s official salary was nowhere near enough. If embezzlement was involved, military payroll was the most likely source—a crime punishable by beheading.
Listening to the growing clamor, Nanny Zhou’s face flushed red and pale by turns. She shrieked, “Absolute nonsense! Our Old Madame simply suffers from poor health and requires more medicine! Besides, whether such a sum is truly owed cannot be decided on their word alone! Wait here… I will inform the Marquis and let him clear this matter up!”
Flustered, she turned on her heel and scrambled through the side door, disappearing so fast it was as though wolves were snapping at her heels.
Xie Zhaoyan sat quietly in her chair, waiting with consummate patience. Four women in red martial attire stood guard on either side of her; possessing erect postures and an imposing aura, they were clearly well-trained.
According to the imperial edict, today was supposed to be the grand wedding day of the Marquis of Zhenbei and Xie Zhaoyan. Red double-happiness characters were indeed pasted outside the Marquisate’s gates, yet the air was eerily quiet—no noisy gongs or drums, no groom leading a welcoming procession, no servants bustling to greet guests. Not a shred of wedding joy was to be found.
It was plain to see just how dissatisfied the Marquisate was with this marriage.
Still, Xie Zhaoyan could not help but marvel at He Yichuan’s audacity. The Marquisate sat right at the foot of the Imperial Throne, and He Yichuan was a powerful general holding military command. The Emperor was inherently wary of military commanders to begin with, yet today, He Yichuan dared to openly defy an imperial edict in broad daylight, attempting to demote her from primary wife to noble concubine.
Truly… seeking death.
Xie Zhaoyan lowered her gaze, examining her delicate, pink-tinted nails.
She had gone to the Xie family at the age of nine and grasped absolute power over the Xie clan by eighteen—not through familial affection, but through bloody lives and ruthless, bloodless slaughter in the business arena. And the reason she had been sent away to the Xie family in the first place was that she had crippled her third elder brother’s manhood. Blood had splattered across her face; though the stench made her nauseous to the point of losing her appetite, the sight of her father’s deathly pale face had made her burst into ecstatic laughter.
They called her a lunatic, an ill omen, a demon. Her father had originally intended to kill her, but regrettably, he failed and banished her the very next day.
Now, she was back.
After nine years of patient endurance and scheming, she returned to claim their lives.
A flash of ruthless malice flickered in her eyes. The curl of her lips resembled the spider lilies blooming along the road to the underworld—captivatingly beautiful, yet fatally dangerous.
A rush of footsteps echoed from within the gates, followed by an urgent shout from a servant: “The Marquis is here!”
Hearing this, Xie Zhaoyan narrowed her eyes and slowly raised her gaze.